Food your body recognizes, from people you can name.
Somewhere in the last 40 years, food got traded for convenience. Local relationships gave way to shelf packaging, seasons gave way to shipping lanes, and a lot of people ended up running on food their bodies don't fully recognize. We built Culiene to go the other way: a small team, a limited number of clients, and the same care on every plate.
What you're paying for
Your food comes from a local, chef-led team with more than 25 years in high-end dining. That includes Michelin kitchen experience, real farm to table roots, and over a decade cooking privately for high-profile households, where discretion and consistency aren't optional. It's the standard of a private estate kitchen, without having to staff one.
We buy from farmers, ranchers, and artisans we know personally, relationships built over years. We can tell you where your food was grown, who grew it, and why it's on your plate this week. Menus follow the seasons, not a supply catalog.
A full-time private chef in the Bay Area typically earns $140,000 to $300,000 or more a year, and that's before food, payroll taxes, and benefits. Culiene's Five Day family plan for a couple runs about $130,000 a year with the food included.
Kid plates come from the same local, organic ingredients as yours, sized for them. The habits kids pick up at the table early tend to stay with them, and most families never get the chance to set that standard on a weeknight. Kids are $40 a meal, and you only pay for the ones eating with you. Your nanny can eat too. One more adult at lunch is $110 a meal, and one less thing for your household to figure out.
Most of our clients are founders, executives, and athletes. They already know what it costs to run below their potential. How you eat shapes your energy, your focus, and how consistent you are week to week. Our Performance plans build every meal around your goals, so food stops being something you squeeze into your schedule.
We serve a limited number of clients so the care doesn't slip as we grow. You deal with the same people every week, and they know your household. Commit to a block of service weeks and use them on your schedule. Skip a week with 7 days notice. Add guests, extra days before a trip, desserts, or food for a party whenever you need it.
Meals arrive in reusable ceramic and glass containers, not single-use plastic. Better for your food, and better for everything downstream of it. Leave the empties out on delivery day and we take them back with us.
The benefits of a private chef, without hiring one
A full-time private chef in the Bay Area typically earns $140,000 to $300,000 or more a year, and that's before food, payroll taxes, and benefits. Culiene's Five Day family plan for a couple runs about $130,000 a year with the food included.
| Topic | Full-time private chef | Culiene |
|---|---|---|
| Yearly cost | Full-time private chef:$140K to $300K+ in salary alone | Culiene:About $130K for a couple, five days a week |
| Food | Full-time private chef:Billed on top | Culiene:Included |
| Payroll, taxes, insurance | Full-time private chef:Your responsibility | Culiene:Ours |
| Sick days and vacations | Full-time private chef:You go without | Culiene:Our team covers it |
| Who's cooking | Full-time private chef:One person | Culiene:A chef-led team with 25+ years in high-end dining, Michelin experience, and 10+ years in private households |
| If it isn't working | Full-time private chef:Letting an employee go | Culiene:Changing your plan |
Private chef salary range from Bay Area private chef placement data, 2026.
You deal with the same people every week.
We serve a limited number of clients so the care doesn’t slip as we grow. The people who cook your food know your household, your allergies, what your kids will eat and when you travel. When someone on our team is out, the team covers it.
Our job is simple: make sure you're never leaving anything on the table.
A week with Culiene
Step 1: A conversation
How you eat, who's at the table, your goals, allergies and dietary needs. We recommend a plan and set a start date, usually within 7 days.
Step 2: Your menu, by email
Next week's menu arrives before service starts, built around the season, what our farms have that week, and what you like. You have 24 hours to request changes.
Step 3: Delivered Monday, Wednesday, Friday
Between 7am and 2pm, with a one hour window texted the morning of. You don't need to be home. We can put meals away in your fridge or bring them to your office.
Step 4: Leave the empties out
Your kit has two full sets of ceramic and glass containers. Leave the used set out on delivery day and we pick it up. No washing needed.
Start with a conversation.
Tell us how you eat, who's at the table, and what you're working toward. We'll recommend a plan and set a start date, usually within a week.
Or write to us
max@culiene.com
chef@culiene.com
Delivering Monday, Wednesday and Friday across the San Francisco Bay Area, from Napa to San Jose.